Archive for the 10 Favorite Actresses of the 1950′s Category

Favorite Actress of the 1950′s ~ #1 ~ Elizabeth Taylor

Hair of ebony , eyes of violet , and stunning today as she was as a child , Elizabeth Taylor was in her prime in the 1950′s . Young and vibrant , and full of life , She was a true Star . 6 Academy Award nominations with two wins , not only starred with Elizabeth Some of the most handsome men in Hollywood , She befriended Them and married others . Lifelong friends with Rock Hudson , Roddy McDowell , Montgomery Clift and even in his short life , James Dean, Elizabeth reigned in the 50's as the star everyone wanted to be like and everyone wanted to be with .

Her roles in the 50's Included Southern Belle , Susanna Drake in Raintree County ; Maggie the Cat in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ; the insane Catherine Holly in Suddenly Last Summer ; the rich easterner cattle heiress turned as Leslie Benedict in Giant ; and as the prostitute , Gloria Wondrous , in 1960's Butterfield8 . Engaging Her versatility and good looks made her one of the hottest stars That ever hit Hollywood .

Favorite Actresses of the 1950's ~ Katherine Hepburn ~ # 2

By the time the 1950's Came along , Katherine Hepburn was already a legend and a movie Goddess . In the 1951 movie She was Nominated for the fifth time for her role in African Queen . She was Nominated in 1955 for the 6th time for her leading role in the film , Summertime , Came in two more nominations for the 1957 and 1959 her roles in Suddenly Last Summer and The Rainmaker . In her long career She would be Nominated for a total of 12 times , and win a record four awards .

Kathrine Hepburn was not only a star in the 1950's but Every decade from her debut in 1931 in A Bill of Divorcement , to her last role in 1994 in Love Affair . No list of favorite movie stars would be complete without her .

Favorite Actresses of the 1950's ~ Grace Kelly ~ # 3

Regal , elegant , beautiful , grace ... What better name as She was the epitome of grace on the screen and in real life . Grace Kelly was the most powerful female in Hollywood in the 1950's , next to Elizabeth Taylor . She was wanted by Every director and producer . From 1950 to 1956 Pls She wed Prince Rainer of Monaco and retired from Hollywood , She starred in 11 Motion Pictures , and numerous television programs . She was Alfred Hitchcock's favorite leading lady female .

After only four years in the big screen , Grace walked away as the Academy's Best Actress for her role in Country Girl , beating out big names Poor 'Jane Wyman, Audrey Hepburn, Dorothy Dandridge and Judy Garland .

My favorite Grace Kelly's role was Dial M for Murder . She was just spectacular .

Grace left for Hollywood royalty with royalty in 1956 , but her name , her talent , her grace Lives on .

Favorite Actresses of the 50's ~ Audrey Hepburn ~ # 4

Roman Holiday and Sabrina Were two of my favorite Audrey Hepburn movies . Her style , her raw talent and her glamorous Came to life in Those two roles . America loved Audrey. The Fifties Were the decade That made Audrey Hepburn a household name . Unlike the other Starlets in the 50's , She was not a teen idol , or just a name , She was an actress . Five-time Oscar nominee , and a one-time winner for her leading role in Roman Holiday , Hepburn Became not only an actress but a leading lady in real life . Her humanitarian efforts brought hunger , and poverty to us , and She did something about it . Audrey Hepburn was a rare breed Indeed .

Favorite Actresses of the 50's ~ Bette Davis ~ # 5

What favorite list of any decade would be complete without the Immortal Bette Davis ? From 1931 to 1989 , Davis played in over 120 films . But in my opinion , her greatest role of Margo Channing That was in the 1950 classic , All About Eve .

Manipulative , deceptive and mysteriously charming , Bette Davis was the real Margo Channing . She controlled the screen and the roles with Standard and Poor venom , it made you love her even more . At the end of the movie , you Almost felt sorry for her actually . The role garnered her a 9th out of a career 11 Academy Award nominations , however She lost her bid for a third win That year due to the nominations being a split vote Between her and her on screen nemesis , Anne Baxter and the award went to Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday , even though the film All About Eve won six out of it's record 14 nominations .

Favorite Actresses of the 50's ~ Natalie Wood ~ # 6

From a child star to teen idol to adult actresses Natalie Wood will from forever be etched in my mind as James Dean's girl , Judy in Rebel Without a Cause , and of course as Maria in West Side Story .

Natalie played roles from the sweet little innocent girl to a stripper (Gypsy) and Them played well . Unfortunately as She aged , her roles Were Were limited and her lackluster performances .

Natalie was nominated for three acting Oscars but never won . Ironically she won a Golden Globe in 1957 for Most Promising Female Newcomer , and she had already been making movies almost 15 years by then . Natalie was Known as Hollywood's bad girl in the 1950's and She dated a slew of Hollywood's elite , many of Them older , her director on Standard and Poor 'Rebe l, Nicholas Ray , the WHO according to the book Live Fast , Die Young , Also slept with James Dean . Also Natalie dated Elvis Presley , Warren Beatty , Raymond Burr and Dennis Hopper .

Natalie married actor Robert Wagner in 1957 , They divorced in 1962 , later to remarry . Natalie began work in 1981 on Brainstorm with Christopher Walken . She did not live to see it released . She did not live to see it released . On November 29 , 1981 , She was sailing on the yacht She shared with her Husband , Robert Wagner , Walken and on their friend , Pls Natalie Fell in the ocean while trying to board the dinghy tied up alongside the yacht and Drowned . She was 43 years old .

Favorite Actresses of the 50′s ~ Lana Turner ~ #7

Turner's film career began - so the story goes - Pls She was discovered sipping soda at the fountain in Schwab's Drug Store . She was dubbed “The Sweater Girl” after an on screen appearance walking down the street in a tight skirt and sweater in the appropriately titled 1937 film , “They Won't Forget .” A favorite pin-up girl during World War II , Turner embodied the beautiful blonde , passionate and troubled , with a shadowy past .

In real life , there Were many shadows in Turner's world . Her father was murdered , reputedly for gambling debts , when she was a child . She struggled with all her life and Alcoholism Had many famous and A Few Notorious boyfriends , including billionaire Howard Hughes , pretty-boy actor Tyrone Power , and Tarzan star Lex Barker . Turner eventually married seven times .
In 1958 Turner's only child , Cheryl Crane , stabbed and killed Johnny Stompanato with a kitchen knife . Turner was trying to break off the relationship . The judge ruled justifiable Homicide after hearing evidence of the violence and threats made by Stompanato . Despite the unstable environment of the Turner household , Cheryl was reunited with her mother .

Turner's scandalous personal life played Havoc with her professional advancement in the studio-driven image-conscious world of Hollywood . Her glamorous girl reputation overshadowed her talent as an actress . Although aware of her directors Were ABILITY , the "women's roles" Turner was so often type-cast in , prevented her from achieving the greatness many thought her capable of .

Turner's most Notable screen successes Were as the "Ziegfeld Girl" (1941) , gorgeous in feathers and a fan , as the steamy double-dealing Housewife in "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (1946) , and later in the noir classic , " Madame X "(1966) . She was Nominated for an Oscar as Best Actress for "Peyton Place" in 1957 . My most favorite role of Lana's was in 1959's , Ironically titled "Imitation of Life".

Even after her original film faded glamor , Turner continued to act . She had a recurring role in the nighttime TV Soap Opera , "Falcon Crest" from 1981 to 1990 . Until illness stopped her , She Performed at Dinner Theaters around the country .

Her daughter , WHO grew up to write a book about her traumatic childhood and adulthood Successful in partnership with her lesbian lover , was close to her mother in the final years . Cheryl was at her mother's bedside when Lana Turner died .

Favorite Actress of the 1950′s ~ Eva Marie Saint~#8

In the early 1950′s Eva Marie Saint was known as “the Helen Hayes of television ,” as her acting and acclamation was such a high level . She was Nominated Twice for the Emmy Awards and starred Beside , Paul Newman , EG Marshall and Frank Sinatra .

But her fame took off in her first big screen role , beating out other stars Poor ', Grace Kelly , Janice Rule , and Elizabeth Montgomery in Elia Kazan's 1954 , On the Waterfront , Which won Best Picture That year at the Oscars and Eva Marie Saint WENT home with the award for Best Supporting Actresses .

She went on to star in A Hateful Rain in 1957 , which garnered her the Best Foreign Actress” from the British Academy of Film and Television . She Also starred in That Same year Raintree County , starring with Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift . Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock surprised many by choosing the stately and serious Saint over dozens of other candidates for the femme fatale role in what was changed from a suspense classic North by Northwest with Cary Grant and James Mason .

Saint went on to star in numerous films and TV movies and most recently gained a new audience of her portrayal of Martha Kent in Superman Returns .

Favorite Actresses of the 1950′s ~ #9 ~ Thelma Ritter

Thelma Ritter's first role in the classic 1947 film , Miracle on 34th Street was not even Credited , although her work as a frustrated mother Unable to find the toy That Kris kringle promised her son . She was 45 at the time and although she had made a mark in theater she was on the verge of becoming a star .

Joseph L. Mankiewicz put her in his next film , A Letter to Three Wives . Again her part was not even Credited , but Mankiewicz liked what Ritter Could do and he cast her as the outspoken , brash maid to Bette Davis' Margo Channing in All About Eve. She became a household name and also received her first of six Academy Award nominations for Supporting actress . Ritter never won an award , but she would become known as one of the greatest and best known supporting , charecter actresses ever put on film . She even co-hosted the awards show with Bob Hope in 1954 .

I Became a fan of Thelma's the first time I ever saw All About Eve , and continued to seek her films . Each film she palyed with the same commitment and vigor of the first . Her honesty and truth came through with each role . In occasional non-comedic turns, she projected an unglamorous world-weariness , notably in Pickup on South Street (1953) .
Some of her best-known roles included Bette Davis's devoted maid in All About Eve (1950) as Gene Tierney's maid - mother in law in The Mating Season (1951) , James Stewart's nurse in Rear Window (1954) , and as Doris Day's housekeeper in Pillow Talk (1959) . Her turn in John Huston's The Misfits (1961) , where she played opposite Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable , also garnered favorable reviews .

Shortly after a 1968 performance on The Jerry Lewis Show , Ritter suffered a heart attack which eventually proved fatal . She was nine days shy of her 67th birthday . She was 9 days shy of her 67th birthday .

Favorite Actresses of the 50′s ~ Marilyn Monroe ~ #10

She was beautiful , voluptuous , sexy , and one of the hottest actresses in the 1950's . With her appearing in 23 films in the 1950′s , Marilyn soon became one of the , if not the most celebrated actresses of all time . It wasn't due to her outstanding acting ability , which in all honesty wasn't that bad at all , but due to her personality and sex symbol image .

She made apperances in All About Eve in 1950 , As Young as You Feel in 1951 , Don't Bother to Knock and Monkey Business in 1952 ; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , and How to Marry a Millionaire in 1953 ; Then came the big roles that catapulted her even further upward as well as into a downward spiral , The Seven Year Itch , Some Like it Hot and Bus Stop .

Unfortunately she became an even bigger star and legend due to her untimely death after filming what some say was her greatest role of her career , matched with the greatest leading man of all time , Clark Gable in The Misfits .



Xoxo ,
Arsshia




(copy from Michael's Movie Mania blog)